


Travel Weary, Loved and Worn

by marimoes



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Fluff, Fugitive Boyfriends, M/M, Post DA2, Post-Canon, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:47:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26564608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marimoes/pseuds/marimoes
Summary: There is something to be said about how the light flickers through the reach of leaves and branches to land against Hawke’s hair. It’s different here than it ever was before in Kirkwall, or even the outer edges on the Sundermount. Beneath these trees that shelter their path away into freedom, it reflects a little brighter.For Anders to see Hawke shine more than he already does—it feels impossible.
Relationships: Anders/Male Hawke
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	Travel Weary, Loved and Worn

**Author's Note:**

> I lost this wip to the depths of my google docs and found it again this week. I needed closure after DA2 and by god I was gonna get it.

There is something to be said about how the light flickers through the reach of leaves and branches to land against Hawke’s hair. It’s different here than it ever was before in Kirkwall, or even the outer edges on the Sundermount. Beneath these trees that shelter their path away into freedom, it reflects a little brighter. 

For Anders to see Hawke shine more than he already does—it feels impossible. 

Ahead of him is a man that saw Anders at his worst, hands shaking from a choice he was sure would land him dead, and still smiled. One that pulled him forward and held him. One that soothed his brittle soul against a decision he never wanted to have to make. 

Hawke is all of those things and more. 

Even more so now that they’re on the road permanently. His humor hasn’t faltered all this time, somehow. Jokes that slip from his lips about trees that are shaped weird, or recalling stories from years past. All to keep Anders focused and fine, never once making it seem like a burden. 

“Love,” Anders says, and watches the smile on Hawke’s face as he turns. The response alone is enough for him to feel better, but he continues, “Do you want to stop for a bit? We haven’t slowed down since we left this morning.” 

Hawke stops all at once, eyes narrowing to study Anders. “Do you want to stop? I’m fine for now, but I wouldn’t turn down a break.” 

Anders hates it when he does this. When he asks a question and Hawke effortlessly turns it back onto him. It forces him into telling the truth, because if he lies, Hawke knows and acts regardless. To be honest, he’s not sure why he still asks. 

“If that’s alright?” Anders drops his bag against the tree, letting his legs fold beneath him to land on the ground. 

Hawke follows, thudding on the ground like a mabari, and stretches out with a similar noise. All Anders does is give a small shift against the ground and Hawke’s hand is around his arm, tugging him towards him. He willingly settles his head against Hawke’s thigh with a sigh, curling his arm to cradle his knee. 

“There are easier ways to ask for a quick nap, Anders,” Hawke chides, but it’s weak. Calloused fingers push up against the base of Anders’ neck, stroking the soft hair that sits there. “I’ll never say no to you.” 

Anders grumbles, words lost into Hawke’s leg, and feels fingers scratch against him. They ask for a repeat, tickling up just beneath Anders ear as a threat. 

“Some might say that’s a problem, you know,” Anders sighs instead, finger now weakly tracing shapes into leather. An entire city would say it’s a problem, if not most of Thedas by now. “You should exercise telling me no every once in a while.” 

Hawke hums in thought like he’s considering it, but Anders knows that is ungenuine. Warmth seeps deeper into his robes than it did when they were moving, wrapping around his lungs to slow them with each breath. Clean air cannot cleanse a worried heart, Anders realizes, but it does seem to help. It’s only moments later that the world slips away into a darkness. A place where there are no dreams and only Hawke’s arm seems to pin him to the earth. 

When Anders wakes, he does so quietly, so as not to rouse the man settled around him. His eyes strain upward trying to catch a glimpse of Hawke’s face to see if he’s still out. 

It appears that he is; lids that are still shut heavily with sleep, and only twitch occasionally with whatever scene is painting before his eyes. While travelling like this may not wear on him now, it will one day. They will have to find somewhere to settle away from everyone else, tucked into a cove or a mountain. What a change of pace for a man who has been comfortable in an estate with ease at his doorstep for years now. 

All of it was cast away so he could go with Anders. 

A decision that he hopes that Hawke won’t regret, but if the years have taught him anything, it’s that Hawke does nothing halfway. There is only his whole heart, whole being, in everything that he does. Whether it be in his name or in another's—he’s completely there. 

They will find themselves somewhere new and old all at the same time. Travel weary with feet that cannot stop regardless of where they are. Worn with the seasons that will begin to rest upon them unlike they saw against a neutral coast. 

But most of all—Anders reminds himself, smiling as eyes open to find his—he is loved, and he loves. Now with the freedom to do so passionately, no longer held with reserve or question. As sun-dried lips press against his own, warm and sweet with the linger of sleep still on them, Anders feels awake. 

He feels happy. He feels free. 


End file.
